


Taste of Love

by orphan_account



Category: L'Arc~en~Ciel
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, F/M, M/M, Master/Servant, Master/Slave, Multi, Sexual Slavery, Shota, Slave Trade, Slavery, Training, Underage Character, Underage Kissing, Underage Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-06 06:42:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/732593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a country where slavery is the main source of income, Hideto sacrifices his own freedom to protect his sister's. Young and impressionable, he finds himself giving his trust to the kind slave trainer that bought him, but there is no hope anymore for the inexperienced boy to ever experience what love is now that he's no longer in control of his own life... or is there?</p><p>Please take note of the tags and warnings before reading. Complete AU so readable even if you don't know any of the characters at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hideto trembled as he watched the men in front of him. They were big, and strong – nothing like his own scrawny figure. And they were powerful. So powerful, influential, so rich, that noone ever dared defy them. But... how could he stay quiet now? When they...

He winced when he saw one of the men push his older sister into the hands of another, who then leered at her and touched her beautiful, pure body with their dirty big hands. The girl tried to protest, tried to get away from the strong hold, but they just laughed at her.

“Come on, little girl, you weren't so shy when you came to us to borrow money,” they taunted her, while Hideto stood, scared, a few steps away, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, “You're months late in giving it back, did you expect us to just let you go for looking pretty? Time to pay up, and if you can't we'll just have to get our money back some other way. By selling you as a slave, for example, you surely would get us pretty penny with a body like that,” they laughed again, looking her over like she was... a piece of merchandise or something, and that just was more than Hideto could take.

“You can't do that!” he screamed, launching himself at the men to try and free his sister, but they swatted him back as if he were no bigger than a fly, making him stumble backwards and fall on his ass, prompting another bout of laughter from the burly men.

“Oh yes we can,” one of them actually deigned to answer him, “Your sister owes us a substantial sum of money, and is unable to pay up. By the laws of this country, we can do whatever we want with her to get it back.”

Hideto whimpered as he picked himself up from the floor, but couldn't really say anything in response once he was standing again. By the laws of this country...

The man was right, of course. If you lived in the screwed up country like Sklabitia - a country that supplied a big part of the rest of the world with well-trained slaves, you learned to live as quietly and unnoticeably as possible just so you don't attract the wrong kind of attention. The government, and the justice system were never created to protect you, just to make it easier for the people of the upper social status. The nobles.

In fact, Sklabitia only had four main social classes. First of all were the nobles, including the royalty. For a small country like this, the number of nobles was suspiciously high, but the country, in general, was rich enough to support the luxurious lifestyles of all of them. 

Then, of course, there were the slaves – the biggest resource of income for the country. They even got imported from other countries here, just to be trained by the incredibly good and talented slave traders of this land, who made up the third class.

And finally, there was a rather small number of regular people. People like Hyde and his sister, who did the most necessary work here. People that ran restaurants, people that owned small shops, farmers... people who ran the brothels and also the prostitutes. People that lived simple lives, earning barely enough money to survive on. People that made this country able to function by taking care of the basics. Of course, most of the shops and small businesses also got slave-workers there almost all the time, as the trainers also needed to have their slaves be able to work so they'd be useful to their future Masters. But if it were not for the simple people, none of these basic structures of society would have even existed.

Hideto and his sister had worked on a pretty big farm, owned by a minor noble, for all of their lives. They were barely educated well enough to read and write and count. All they've known most of their lives was how to work the soil and how to take care of the cattle. All they could truly trust on was having each other, ever since their parents died in an accident a few years ago. And now their hard, but at least peaceful, life was being interrupted. Hideto was about to lose the last thing he had, and he couldn't help but look at his sister with tears in his eyes. Why did she do this, why did she borrow the money? He hadn't known about it at all until a few minutes ago, when these men had burst into their tiny home and grabbed her.

But of course he could guess, even though he didn't want to admit it. For over a year now, he had thought that the numbers weren't adding up. He truly had never been that good at counting though, so he mostly just dismissed it as that... or maybe he just didn't want to admit he found it suspicious. The money they earned on the farm shouldn't have been enough for them to pay the rent and the food. They should have starved, most likely. And now he knew why they hadn't... His sister, his beautiful and loving sister, had done the only thing she could think of to be able to take care of her little brother.

“Please,” he spoke up again, swallowing down his pride and bowing before the men in hopes that would make them have mercy, “Give us a bit more time, I beg you. We will return you the money, just release my sister, have pity. Take me instead if you have to...”

His plea got cut off, however, when instead of taking him seriously the men started laughing again.

“Take _you_ instead?” one of them asked, “Who would even pay enough for a scrawny kid like you? A man, for that? Though, I have to admit, you _are_ pretty,” the man's voice lost the mocking note slowly, and he suddenly sounded thoughtful, even stepping out towards the bowing boy, grabbing his chin to raise his face and inspect it. Hideto, of course, did not dare to try and get away from the touch, “There's been a bigger market for male slaves lately. It used to be only a few noble women who would want their own pet to satisfy their desires, but now men are no longer unwilling to admit their taste for pretty boys like you... Exactly like you. Petite, slightly feminine, pretty-faced... Say what, little boy. We can make a deal. We'll let your sister go free, if you really want to save her, if in three days you can convince someone to buy you for enough money instead.”

Hideto's heart was beating insanely fast in his chest, and he felt sick when he heard the suggestion. Becoming a slave? Him? And to a man at that? He was not naïve or ignorant of what the slaves were mostly used for – noone in this country was, not even little kids. Could he really... could he really submit to this? Becoming a plaything to some old, perverted noble, with no hope of ever being freed? Pleasing a man sexually... He had never even thought about it. He would sometimes dream about meeting a girl at some point, maybe, but he had never even thought about being attracted to men...

But that did not even matter, right? If he was supposed to be a slave... It didn't matter what he liked and what he didn't. The only thing that mattered was that he had no choice about it. And he truly had no choice here. He was not going to let his sister suffer this fate instead. His beloved sister who only ever had his best intentions in her heart, who had sacrificed so much for him already.

“I'll do it. Just let Gina-chan go,” he said, before he could change his mind, but that only made his sister suddenly start struggling more.

“No, Hide-chan, don't do this!” she screamed, with tears in her own eyes, finally managing to move so much that the man who had been holding her until then released her, and she dashed towards the man that seemed to be the group's leader, lashing out at him and beating her small fists again his chest, “You can't do this, you can't take him because of me! _I_ took the money, he has nothing to do with it!” she screamed, before the man caught her by her wrists and stopped her, making her slide onto her knees on the ground, sobbing helplessly.

“Well, but he offered himself up so nicely. You should be happy, you know, having such a lovely little brother who's willing to do so much for you. Besides, it might still not work, if he doesn't succeed in getting someone interested in him,” the man spoke, and let her wrists go, making her collapse completely, “Come on, get the boy then. We'll get him washed up and outfitted well, and bring him to the market today already. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky, _Hide-chan_ ,” he snared mockingly, and Hideto could only stand, frozen because he was simply so overwhelmed by the situation. He could barely believe what was happening when the man that had come close to him suddenly got a rope from somewhere, tying his wrists behind his back and then tugging on it harshly to get him moving. His feet heavy, he started following the men out the door, but when he was about to pass the collapsed figure of his sister, he stopped in his tracks, despite the men impatiently tugging on the rope again.

He knew he had to say goodbye now. If this worked - and as afraid of that as he was, he truly hoped it _would_ – noone would bother with giving him an opportunity to see his sister again, or talk with her at all. This was possibly the last time it ever happened. He suddenly fell to his knees beside her shaking from sobs figure, and bent down to kiss the top of her head and then whisper into her ear.

“It will be okay, Gina-chan, I promise,” he said, the strength in his voice surprising even him as he knew he didn't truly feel it. But he hoped that would comfort the girl at least, even if they both knew it was an empty promise. The beautiful girl raised her face then, and suddenly embraced him tightly.

“You shouldn't have done it. You shouldn't have... I should have been the one...” she she said, crying still, before managing to control herself a little, knowing as well as he did that nothing could be changed now anymore, “Be careful, please, Hide-chan.”

That was all she managed to say before the men lost patience completely and tugged on the rope even more harshly, making him stand up and follow them out, not looking back. He did not know what was waiting for him in the future, but he was at least glad that he was granted this chance to save his sister from it. Now he only had to figure out what he could do to convince someone to buy him.


	2. Chapter 2

Tetsuya wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as he walked the familiar streets of the Slave Market. The summers were always unforgivingly hot in Sklabitia, but this year had to be record-breaking. Yet there was no rest for the slave trainers. While the rest of the population stayed at home when the sun was at its highest during midday, the Market was still bustling with the buyers, the sellers and the sold. 

Tetsuya supposed he could have waited before coming here again – the day was especially hot, after all. But there was no guarantee it would get any better in the next few days, and he had just sold one of his girls to her new Master yesterday so he was looking to replace her already. He usually worked with at _least_ three slaves at the same time, as he liked using them to help with each others training, so he hoped to take back maybe even two new ones home today, considering he was down to only two now.

The Slave Market was never a happy place. How could it be, when the trade of human lives (or mostly-human, he corrected himself, when he saw a cat-girl flicking her tail out the corner of his eye) was happening here. But Tetsuya, having been in the business ever since he was fifteen and having known he _would_ be years before that, was well used to it by now. He was not said to be one of the best in this for no reason, after all, he had trained more slaves than he could count by now.

Most of the slaves weren't exactly _sad_ either. Mostly they were resigned. The great majority of them had been born knowing they would be sold some day, after all. They had never had any other prospects in their lives as they had been pretty much bred for this, only able to live out mostly “normal” lives until they matured.

Then again “mature” was a relative term as well.

The Slave Market was a slight mess, however. Slaves that were still to be trained were sold alongside those who were ready for their Masters already. Younger ones beside older ones, human beside _others_ , males beside females who got mixed with ones whose gender was... less defined. There was no system, and one always had to pass through all of it, looking for what they wanted exactly. And Tetsuya was looking for fresh slaves, ones that had yet to be molded and trained, and sometimes even had yet to be broken. Those ones were, of course, sometimes more trouble than they were worth, but at least they raised a challenge and made things more interesting for him.

Quite like this one, he thought, as he stopped before one of prettiest ones on sale that day. So pretty, and so ripe for picking. Still had a fire in the eyes, not broken at all, possibly someone who used to be free and sold into slavery because of debt or similar circumstance. Tetsuya could deduce all of that with a single glance, from the way the slave stood, from the posture, from the attitude and the expression on the face. And yet, no matter how lovely otherwise this particular slave seemed, it was a male. Sure, he was androgynous enough that even Tetsuya wavered for a second before dubbing the gender on him, but he was sure of it now. And Tetsuya specialized in females only.

“Does the boy interest you, Sir?” there was suddenly a man beside him, obviously the one selling the boy, and Tetsuya cursed inwardly. He obviously stood staring for long enough that he had seemed like a potential buyer, and now the man won't let him go easily, trying to convince him to buy as well as these annoying people could. And although Tetsuya knew he was experienced enough not to fall for any marketing tricks, he still lingered. It won't hurt to listen for a bit, after all. And maybe he should expand his horizons anyway. Males were getting a very quickly increasing demand lately, and he could perhaps use one too? It would be especially useful if he could pair him up with the girls, so they'd have some other male to practice their skills with...

“He wasn't _born_ into slavery, was he?” he asked, and suddenly the pretty slave, who had been looking down before that, looked up at him with wide eyes. He seemed surprised that someone was actually showing interest in him. Even weirdly hopeful. Tetsuya ignored it, however.

“Yes, Sir, I see you're experienced in the business. He's indeed only being sold in hopes it would pay off a debt,” the seller explained in the meantime, and Tetsuya nodded as it was just like he had expected. He circled around the petite man, looking over his slender figure that was scantly clad in the usual, small silky clothes that slaves usually got to wear while in the Market. His hands were bound by a piece of rope behind his back, also as usual.

He was _very_ well built, Tetsuya had to admit. His skin was slightly bronze, as if he spent most of his time outside, but not overly so (a farmer, probably, Tetsuya noted in his head). He also was skinny, but more in a fit than bony kind of way. He had a fair bit of muscle, Tetsuya could see once he casually lifted up the shirt to look at his stomach (it was completely normal to inspect merchandise like this, since they were supposed to serve very intimate needs and body was important after all), and though he had yet to be shaved, even his cock and balls seemed lovely when Tetsuya tugged the waistband of his pants down to inspect them in broad daylight, making he boy blush from embarrassment though he stayed still and quiet.

What worried Tetsuya most was how tense the man had become when being touched like this, like he was barely holding back from protesting incredibly much. It meant the boy could possibly be very hard to break, which of course made sense considering his circumstances. He obviously knew he had no choice, as he _did_ hold back after all, but after he was bought, he would probably become troublesome. 

There were laws preventing slavers from just giving up on slaves, and once bought, a slave had to either be kept in good conditions or sold to someone else who was willing to take care of them. It was probably one of the very few laws that were there for the _protection_ of the slaves, since that meant they wouldn't just be thrown out once they got old. The Masters took permanent responsibility for them when buying.

And of course, Tetsuya approved of those laws completely. But it did mean that, since this pretty male slave would just be relieved once he was bought once and his debt had been paid off, he could start misbehaving incredibly afterwards without fear of Tetsuya just changing his mind about it. And Tetsuya would not be able to sell him to anyone else, since the boy won't have any incentive to not look like he was troublesome and thus scare off any potential buyers.

“How large is his debt?” Tetsuya asked then, since it was meaningless to keep thinking about it so much without even knowing what kind of money the talk was going about.

“Two thousand one hundred forty pieces of gold, Sir,” the seller answered immediately, “Plus an extra two hundred because of marketing expenses.”

“Marketing expenses” only meant that the man trying to sell the boy was only hired buy the true “owners” of him to take care of the business, and that was his agreed upon reward. But Tetsuya didn't really care about that. Only one thought was circling in his head now. This was really expensive. No wonder the boy looked so hopeless, and so surprised when someone showed interest in him. The market for males was fairly young. That meant there was a slight disparity as far as prices went – people were willing to pay a lot for a trained one, as the supply was low, but because of the risk involved, and because there was no knowing if they would be able to sell the slave well, slave trainers usually bought them first-hand for only pennies.

But this one was very expensive. Quite a few trainers probably already passed on buying him. It was just too risky. Of course, if the training went well, Tetsuya would probably be able to sell him for ten times the current price, but what was going to guarantee success?

“Please, Sir,” the boy spoke up, unexpectedly, and Tetsuya stared at him surprised, “If noone buys me by the end of tomorrow, they will take my sister instead. I beg of you, don't let them do it. Please buy me,” the pretty man pleaded, and Tetsuya was not sure how to even respond. Slaves rarely ever dared speak up themselves, but then again, this was not a regular slave, so maybe it was not that unexpected. Still, Tetsuya could not allow himself be swayed by the sad story. Every slave had one. He couldn't afford being sorry in this profession.

But this did give him more information about the slave. The boy was sacrificing himself for his sister, which meant he had great values. He also sounded polite, which was a very important skill for slaves to have. It also meant that he just might be grateful enough to be bought to not cause as much trouble for Tetsuya as the slaver feared he would.

“What is your name, slave?” he asked then, preferring to talk with the boy directly rather than ask the seller, now that he knew the man was not afraid to speak up.

“Hideto, Sir. Takarai Hideto.”

“This is your family's debt then, not a personal one, if your sister is involved?” he continued questioning, as he wanted to know if the boy had just been irresponsible enough to land himself in this situation.

“She borrowed the money to make ends meet after our parents died,” the boy answered, looking down, “I knew nothing of it until a few days ago.”

“I see,” Tetsuya spoke, a bit pleased by the honesty of the answers he was hearing, “Very admirable of you, then, to take responsibility for her actions. But do you truly realize what you are asking for? This is not something you will be able to ever get out of. It is completely permanent, you will never be free after you're sold once. You will lose your identity, you will only be valued by your skills of pleasing another and ability to mindlessly obey. In the eyes of society, you will completely lose your status as a human and become a property instead. Are you truly ready for that?”

Normally, when it came to usual slaves, Tetsuya would have never bothered asking any of this. But by the sound of things, it was not only that this Hideto hadn't grown up knowing he would one day be sold – it was obviously a completely impulse decision on his part to do this at all.

“She does not deserve such a life, Sir. Please. Not my sister,” he answered after a few moments, looking slightly pale after hearing everything Tetsuya had to say.

“And you think you do? Besides, you did not answer my question,” Tetsuya pried further. Hideto closed his eyes, struggling with an answer.

“No, but... better me than her,” he finally whispered, and looked up afterwards to look the taller man in the eyes again, “I am ready for whatever it takes, Sir,” he spoke as determinedly as could be expected, and Tetsuya nodded to himself again.

The boy probably was not ready, despite everything he said. But his sister would be no better, and Tetsuya could understand the boy's wish to protect her – he had two sisters himself, even though he hadn't seen them in ages. Maybe the sob story had affected him more than he cared to admit after all...

His decision had been made, Tetsuya realized. It had been ever since he saw the boy – he never would have spent so much time on him, if he hadn't already wished to buy him. And he was being slightly reckless, maybe, but all the things that would have deterred every single other slaver just made it more challenging and interesting for Tetsuya. He wanted to test himself. He wanted to see if he was capable of taming this boy to the same level that he did all his slaves.

“Start the paperwork,” he said, turning to the seller, who had been silent while his customer talked to his merchandise, “I am buying him.”

After hearing those words, Hideto's face twisted as he was very obviously torn between rejoicing, and starting to cry (or maybe be sick) as the realization that he was truly about to become a slave hit him. In the end, he managed to compose himself somehow, and opened his mouth to say something.

“Do not thank me,” Tetsuya interrupted him before he could start absent-mindedly, “It will save you the trouble of regretting it later on. And you _will_ regret it,” he promised seriously. Hideto just grimaced again and frowned, his features setting in an expression of determination.

“Thank you,” he said as if on purpose, and Tetsuya almost laughed out loud. If that was not pure rebelliousness already, then he did not know what was. 

Was he going to regret doing this later? Very possible. But he had made up his mind, and his pride won't let him back down now. Soon, he was sitting down and signing the paperwork that made a previously free-man his complete and absolute property.

And, as he scribbled “Hyde” in the slot asking for the purchase's new name after considering it for a bit, he was actually quite looking forward to this. But he won't be getting a second slave today after all. The one he just bought sounded like he'd be enough of a handful for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

Hideto's heart was still beating fast, and his mind was still awash with thoughts and emotions, while he followed his new... owner through the streets of the town (to his new home, he supposed). He still felt dazed or like all of this had only been a dream. Ever since yesterday's morning, he felt sort of distanced from what was happening to him. He barely reacted when the men had torn his clothes off of him, when they dosed him with cold water to “wash him” or when they threw his new attire at him, making him put it on.

He had woken up from that daze slightly once the men had turned him over to the man that was supposed to sell him, and he was led into the Slave Market and put on display. He had never been there before, so at first he was looking around a lot, taking everything in. And then once the first customer had come looking at him, he did everything he could to make them buy him: he tried making eye contact, he even tried to look seductive after observing how other slaves did it (though he felt utterly ridiculous doing so), just because he knew he had to get someone to buy him no matter what if he wanted to save his sister. But that enthusiasm evaporated quickly after the first day had passed, and every potential buyer got scared off the moment they heard his price. When Hideto was returned to the Market the next day, he had already lost hope and stood on display almost lifelessly, just praying to every god he could think of for someone to get interested in him enough.

And then, this man came. Carefully, Hideto raised his eyes from the ground as he walked and shyly looked at the back of the man that was now leading him by the rope that tied his wrists in front of him. He still didn't even know the man's name. He only knew he now belonged to him, completely.

The moment he heard the voice asking a question about him, Hideto's heart jumped to his throat. He had almost no longer been expecting anyone to show any interest in him at all anymore, but his hopes rose very fast once he saw this man for some reason. He looked quite young, and was actually really handsome – both these things not that common at all among the other men that had paid him some attention before. He also had a very intense look while he had been inspecting him (and Hideto almost blushed again when he remembered how casually the man had checked his private parts) and something about him had made Hideto feel that this might be the one.

And his instincts had been right. Not even halfway through his second day in the Market, Hideto had been sold into slavery. His sister was now free. He, on the other hand - everything but that. 

The man hadn't spoken again since the paperwork was finished and he led his new purchase out into the streets. Hideto felt incredibly self-conscious as he was led through the familiar to him places as an obvious slave, but noone spared him a second glance. He was just another slave being led by its Master, and everyone was used to seeing that here. Still, he felt uncomfortable, so he mostly kept his head down and kept to himself until he man leading him unexpectedly stopped and he almost ran into him.

“We're here,” Hideto heard his owner explain and lifted his head to look where they stopped at. In front of him was a beautiful, two-floor house (more of a mansion actually) with white walls, big windows, and a bright red roof, surrounded by a small, well kept garden. It looked quite expensive, and Hideto found himself wondering if slave training truly paid that well, but then shook the thought off as it was none of his business. This, apparently, was his new home for a while, and he better got used to it quickly.

“It's beautiful,” he whispered, as it seemed the other man had been waiting for some kind of reaction and nodded once Hideto spoke, leading them past the low fence and across the garden.

“I'm glad you like it. One of your duties will from now on will be to make sure the house is in good condition and do the chores – gardening, cleaning, cooking... You will share those duties with the other slaves and should ask them for help if you ever find yourself not knowing something. It is very important that you're good at those menial tasks as a slave. There are all sorts of skills that your future Master will expect from you, other than the obvious, and your day-time training will mostly focus on that,” the man explained as he led them inside and into the house, finally. Though he knew very well there were far more fancy homes owned by nobles, to Hideto the interior looked almost overwhelmingly luxurious compared to his tiny place he had shared with his family. He was looking around wide-eyed, so he almost lost his balance once his owner continued further in, still holding the other end of the rope.

He was led into what seemed to be the living room and stood, still slightly awed, completely still for a while until the other man suddenly approached him. At first Hideto was confused, but then he felt the man undoing the rope tying his hands together and even gestured for him to sit on the couch. A bit apprehensively, and incredibly afraid of dirtying or damaging some of that expensive-looking furniture, Hideto carefully sat down and awkwardly twisted his hands in his lap, waiting for what was going to happen next. He truly didn't know what to expect – he had even thought he would be made to sit on the floor, like a slave, rather than on the comfortable furniture. But maybe that was not how things worked after all...

“Do you read?” The other man asked him suddenly, sitting down on an armchair facing the couch Hideto sat on.

“Huh?” the boy asked, not quite understanding the question. Did he read? Like, books? He never had any free time to do that on the farm, and they only had a couple of books at home, so...

“Do you know how to read?” The other man reiterated the question, and Hideto blushed, a little embarrassed for not understanding it immediately.

“Yes, Sir,” he answered quickly, “We never went to school, but our parents taught us the basics, so I know the letters, can read and write. I even know a little bit about counting,” he explained quickly and quietly, and the other nodded, seemingly pleased.

“One can never know these things, with how little people pay attention to education of the little folk lately. Here, these are the papers I signed when I bought you today,” he explained, and threw a small roll of parchment at the petite man, who caught it awkwardly, “Read it. Out loud.”

Hideto stared at the paper in his hands first, then at his “owner” and then back again, not quite understanding the purpose of the order. Maybe this was a test, to see if he would obey even when he could not understand? Figuring that had to be the case, Hideto unrolled the paper with trembling hands and started reading, slowly, as he was not really that good at it.

“This legally binding document denotes that one Tetsuya Ogawa, henceforth referred to as 'owner',” Hideto's voice trembled a little as he read the name, finally getting to know who was the person that bought him as this couldn't possibly mean anyone else, “has purchased and gained every right to one Hideto Takarai, henceforth referred to as 'slave', and gives him the name of Hyde...”

Hideto's voice trailed off at that. Not only was it upsetting to read himself be officially called a slave, but... Hyde? What did this even mean? He looked up at... Tetsuya, questioningly.

“I'll answer any questions you might have after you're done,” the man said strictly, “Read the whole thing first.”

Still very confused, but having no choice but obey, Hideto did as told and continued reading. Most of it was just legal gibberish to him, going right over his head as far as specifics went, but some parts... some parts were...

“ _...enters permanent servitude, noted in the international registry of sub-human resources...”_

“ _...lack of human rights and the complete obedience...”_

“ _...gains the exclusive and unconditional rights to do everything with the obtained property, with the sole exceptions of killing and mutilating...”_

The more he read, the better Hideto understood why Tetsuya made him read this. Seeing it all written down, black on white, as undeniable and dry facts made it all so much more real. So inescapably real. It drove all that happened home, finally, and by the end of the not too long document that decided his life and classified him as a thing rather than person, the boy was trembling all over and had tears in his eyes, threatening to escape. After reading the last words out, Hideto let the paper fall from his hands and buried his face in his hands. He wouldn't be able to do this... How could anyone really expect a person become... He was not going to be able to...

“You can do it,” came the other man's voice suddenly, startling Hideto whose head immediately shot up to stare at the man that was supposed to guide him into his new life. Had he been talking out loud, perhaps? Or was it so obvious what thoughts overcame the new slave to the experienced slave maker? 

“I needed you to read that so you could truly understand what is going to happen, and I know it is overwhelming you very much right now. For someone who never thought they'd be anything but free it is a lot to take in.”

The man suddenly leaned forward and reached out towards Hideto, making the young man flinch back. But apparently Tetsuya only wanted to pick up the document again, and stood up after grasping it. As he spoke further, he went to a huge cabinet in the corner of the room, opening one of its small doors to reveal a safe there, which he opened to store the document in and then locked it again.

“But everyone manages, no matter what background they come from. It just takes time and effort. And you might think “Why should I ever put effort into losing my own identity?” But believe me, you would only make it much harder and much more terrible for yourself if you didn't. As soon as you accept the right mentality, you will no longer think that everything is all so bad. A slave's life is actually an easy one. No decisions to make, no responsibilities other than obeying one's Master. Some might even say that it's actually more liberating than the life of a regular person, struggling from day to day, could ever be. And, depending on one's Master and their needs, it might also very well be filled with pleasure.”

“That's... not really comforting,” Hideto spoke, following his owner with his eyes once the man returned and retook his seat. Contrary to his own words, however, his tears had weirdly ceased and he had calmed down a bit.

“It was not supposed to be,” Tetsuya answered him dryly, “This is not time for comfort, this is time for accepting reality and for you to be told how things will go from now on, how this will work and what you should expect. And we should start, I think, from your new name then, Hyde,” Hideto winced noticeably at hearing the still-unfamiliar name, but the other man ignored it, “You looked very confused and surprised when you read you are being given another name. So tell me, now that you had time for thought, why do _you_ think it was done?”

“Because,” Hideto took a deep breath and looked away, “I don't deserve to have my whole name anymore, as a slave?” he half stated, half-asked though at this point he was pretty convinced that had to be the reason.

“No,” the other answered, however, and Hideto was honestly surprised enough to look back again, “It is not about you deserving or not deserving anything. In fact, as a slave, you are insignificant enough that noone is every going to bother doing something, or taking something away from you just because you might not deserve it. From now on, nothing is about you. Everything is only done for the convenience or pleasure of your Master. And people usually want their slaves to have short, simple names they could quickly call them by, if they bothered at all. Do you understand what I am saying?” the older man asked, and the boy found himself nodding. Somehow, this explanation was much worse than the one he had thought to be true.

“Good,” Tetsuya continued, “This is only the first time you experience this, but we do bring it up quickly so you can hopefully get used to expect it from early on. And you can start getting used to your new name this way already as well. Forget about Hideto Takarai. He does not exist anymore, and never will. Noone is allowed to call you by that anymore, and I strongly suggest try to call yourself Hyde as well, even in your thoughts. This is the biggest, and maybe even only advice I can give you to make it easier on yourself. The sooner you accept it all, and won't try to hide away in your thoughts, the better you'll be able to deal with everything else. If you keep hold of the thoughts that this is unfair, or that you want to remain yourself, you will only go insane with time. Got it? This is not a Slave trainer talking to make things easier for himself. This is something I know from experience to be the best advice I can give you now.”

Hideto nodded in response, but inside his mind he was not sure he could actually ever take the advice. In general, what Tetsuya was telling him to do was to just give up on himself, wasn't it? To, even in his mind, already think like a slave, like someone who only exists to please someone else. And it was.... right now, it even seemed completely impossible to him. To... Hyde. He could maybe imagine doing it for a short period of time, a bit like playing make-believe, but to do it all the time, permanently?

“Of course this won't work overnight, but as long as you try, at least, you'll realize it's making things better,” Tetsuya remarked again, before shifting a little in his seat, “Now, let's move on a little and talk about how your training will work. Today and tomorrow will be still a bit different from usual, as you need to get used to things first. I will take you to a tailor, for one, to get your measurements and get you some clothes, also maybe to a shop to get you some necessities as well as to a place where you will receive your slave mark. You'll also get familiarized with the house, meet the other people that live here, that is, the two other slaves in training right now and somebody that works for me as a helper or, well, an assistant if you will, and who will play a major role in your training as well. Your room should be ready by now as well. However, after tomorrow, we will start a routine. For each day, you will have a very detailed schedule of what and where you are supposed to do. In the beginning it will be mostly housework, but in time you will go out into the city to work at various jobs as well, in places I have agreements with, because as I said a wide variety of skills is required from slaves, and you will get the experience you need in those places. You will be expected to complete that schedule word for word and minute for minute. That will make up your daytime training for the length of your stay here.”

“Nighttime is a another matter altogether,” the man continued explaining while Hideto listened as attentively as he could, thinking that it all didn't sound all that bad for now, “Nights will be reserved for, to put it bluntly, sex education. As you are no doubt aware, the biggest part of your duties to your Master will be in the bedroom, and you'll have to learn how to best please anyone in a lot of ways. And there is no better way to learn it than by practising.”

Hideto found himself gulping a little at that, though he had, of course, expected it.

“Will you be the one to... uhm.... “ He choked on his words, not really able to say the question out loud.

“Dirty talk is one of the skills you'll have to acquire as well, you know,” Tetsuya commented, sounding a little amused, “But yes, I will mostly be the one in charge of the training. However, as I have already mentioned, you're not the only slave here now. Some nights you'll just be left to rest, yes, but on others when I won't be able to make it, my uhm... helper might step in instead. Other times, you will have joined training with the other slaves as well. But of course, that will only be well into the future. I won't just throw you in the middle of things and expect you to cope immediately. We'll go slow – well, as slow as we can – and even actual sex in general won't come before you're more or less comfortable with it. I'm not a bad slave trainer, Hyde, I know what I'm doing so I know how best to integrate you into your new life. You'll have to trust me, that's all.”

Hideto nodded again, swallowing with difficulty, still finding his new name weird and not quite knowing what to make of Tetsuya's words. Of course, he had no choice but to trust that the man knew what he was doing, but somehow he had a feeling that was not all his owner meant.

“Do you have any questions right now?” Tetsuya then asked, and Hideto shook his head.

“My mind is just a big mess,” he explained, and the other nodded knowingly.

“That's fine. I will lead you into your room now and leave you there to rest for a few hours. After that, I'll come by again to introduce you to others. And if you'll have any questions formed by then, you'll be able to ask.”


	4. Chapter 4

Hideto's room, as it turned out, had been occupied by some other girl up until a day ago or so when she had been sold. The boy didn't know how he felt about that, but the room had apparently been completely vacated and left absolutely bare of any personal belongings. Tetsuya also explained that it had been cleaned thoroughly after the other slave's departure to make it ready for its new occupant which, of course, was Hideto... or, rather, Hyde.

It was not a very big room. Other than the huge, queen-sized bed in the middle of it with a tiny nightstand, a wardrobe by one of the walls and a small table with some drawers and a mirror, there was no other furniture in it, and, honestly, no _space_ for any other furniture unless one wanted the room to be cluttered up.

The sparsity of personal touch of the room would have made it feel cold for anyone else, probably, but Hideto felt comfortable. He was truly used to not having many personal belongings and the bed alone already seemed like true luxury for him, compared to his own small twin-size with a squeaky spring box at home. And it was so clean and pretty in there. The floor was made of some kind of smooth, light-coloured wood and had a rather fuzzy woollen carpet on it. And it was blue, to match the walls and the bedding – his favourite colour.

Hideto was surprised to notice it, but the view of the room somehow truly helped him relax and feel better about his situation. Of course the reality of what was expected from him by the end of his stay there still weighed heavily on his mind but... right now, he was at least glad the he would stay in this beautiful house, with a slave trainer that actually seemed as nice as could be expected, who promised to help him deal with everything and ease him into things slowly. And he could not let himself forget that at least this meant his sister was free, and who knows – if Tetsuya hadn't found him and Gina ended up being sold after all, she might have not been so lucky with her buyers, ending up with someone far less nice and far more rough.

No matter how he looked at it, Hideto knew it was better this way. It was the best outcome he could have ever expected.

After showing him his room, Tetsuya then directed him to the shower, giving him a towel and some clean clothes to change into afterwards and instructions to rest up in his room until he was called for later in the evening. Hideto gladly shed the clothes he had been made to wear in the market that barely covered anything at all and put on the ones given to him after taking a thorough shower. Obviously, they were far too big on him, hanging off his petite figure loosely, but they were soft, and smelled nice, and were comfortable enough that he even curled up in his bed with them, deciding to take his owner's instructions literally and rest in the few hours he'd been given to himself, maybe even take a nap.

But of course, with his mind still buzzing with conflicting thoughts, his blood rushing with adrenaline and the day in general overwhelming him still, he was just too restless to fall asleep quickly. He had so many things to think over, so many facts to accept. Only a couple of days ago he had never thought he would ever belong to someone, and now here he was, with an official owner. His... Master, he supposed. Tetsuya had not yet told him how he expected to be addressed by him, but Hideto could imagine it would be something like that. Master, or Sir maybe since he wasn't told to stop using that when he did through the whole conversation before. Maybe Tetsuya-sama.

Of course, being from such a poor family, Hideto was already slightly used to being subservient to others. The man that owned the farm they worked in, for example – he had never met him, but everyone always talked about him only as Kurimoto-sama, so Hideto did too. Sometimes the other workers even joked about how the landlord actually owned them all as well, but those were always just jokes. They were dependant on the work the man gave them, but they were free to quit if they so desired.

Now, Hideto wouldn't be able to quit. He wouldn't be able to do anything at all, even, without approval. He belonged to somebody completely, and it was no joke. It was written, black on white, and there was no escaping it. In this society he was now only sub-human, and he would never change his status back to human again. No matter where he went, what country, what city, his name would always be in the slave registry and he would simply not be able to live without his Master. Nobody would give him work - only his owner would be able to hire him out. There was no use in trying to run away.

And so Hyde had to accept it, the faster the better. Yes, _Hyde_ , because the boy now could understand why Tetsuya told him to accept the name immediately, even in his thoughts. He had to forget about his previous life, and no matter the real reasons why he had been given his new name, he could now see another side to it. This was supposed to help him. If he no longer thought about himself as Hideto, then he would stop being him.

“My name is Hyde,” he whispered to himself fervently, the words seeming so loud in he empty room, “My name is Hyde. I am Hyde,” he repeated again and again, ignoring the tear that rolled down his cheek as he forced himself to accept his own words. He was Hyde, and it was a short, easy name, just like it was supposed to be. And with time, everything about him would become exactly as it was supposed to be, so he would be perfect for someone's tastes. And he would submit to becoming that person, because protesting was useless. And he would start craving to please people, because that was the only way he would be able to live. And he would accept as deeply as he could that he was truly a slave and nothing more, and he would believe it whole-heartedly...

These thoughts and others, similar to them, circled frantically in Hyde's brain and in time finally became what lulled him into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

It was only when a knock on his door woke him that Hideto realized just how much he had needed the nap. After the traumatic experience of getting torn away from his sister so suddenly, standing in display in the Market for over a day and then finally being sold as a slave, he had yet to have enough time to get some restful sleep even once, and he had been exhausted. Of course, the few hours of sleep did not mean he completely recovered from that either, but they definitely helped.

The knock on his door had been accompanied by a soft female voice saying it was dinner time, and as he rose from his dreams for a moment he even thought it was his sister talking to him. But then the girl continued saying telling him that “Master Tetsu was expecting him to attend” and the illusion dispersed immediately, making Hideto jolt from his sleep and sit up in his bed. The girl (who he now assumed had been one of the other two slaves that his buyer had mentioned) left after delivering her message without entering his room, and he was left alone to get ready. Not that there was much to do, but somehow, Hideto felt hyper-aware of his appearance now, probably because he knew he would be meeting more people. He got up and walked to the big mirror on the wardrobe door, and quickly ran his fingers through his still a little damp, shoulder-length hair, trying to make it behave a little better though he didn't have a brush to help him.

Now that he actually looked at his reflection, he had to admit his far too large clothes did look ridiculous on him, but there was absolutely nothing he could do other than try to neatly roll up the sleeves of the shirt a bit, as well as his pants, until he was confident he would be able to walk without tripping over them at least. Once that was done, he decided he took enough time already as it was, considering he girl hadn't told him how quickly the dinner would be starting, and carefully left his room.

He hadn't been shown where the kitchen and/or dining room was situated, but he followed the scents and the sounds of cutlery until he found himself in a very well lit room, courtesy of the sunlight coming through the multiple huge windows, with a quite large table in the centre of it, already prepared for the meal. There was another door leading from this room that had to lead into the kitchen, Hideto guessed, as most of the noise as well as the incredible smells were coming from there. However, the boy assumed he was supposed to have come to _this_ room as there were two people already sitting at the table. There was no sight of Tetsuya, but there was a rather pretty girl sitting on one of the chairs, looking and smiling at him gently, as well as a very skinny, but somehow very muscular at the same time man who was concentrated on reading some papers he had in his hands and had obviously yet to notice the new arrival.

Hideto fidgeted on his feet for a second, not quite knowing if he was supposed to say something to greet the man, but soon the problem was taken care of for him. The boy blushed a little when his stomach growled quite audibly, as the scents suddenly reminded him how incredibly hungry he was, and it was apparently loud enough to be heard by the stranger. The man suddenly lifted his eyes away from his papers and looked at him, looking surprised for a moment and then his expression turned into a small frown while he obviously looked the petite man before him over.

“You must be the one Tetsu bought today,” he commented then, his voice sounding very pleasant and kind to Hideto, making the boy relax slightly, “What is your name, boy?” he asked calmly, and Hideto hurried to respond, wanting to make as good an impression as he could.

“I am Hi... Hyde, Sir,” he corrected himself mid-word, fortunately catching his mistake before he made it. Or so he thought.

“You're Hihyde?” the man asked (or rather teased) with amusement, and Hi... _Hyde_ blushed even more brightly.

“I am Hyde, Sir,” he corrected himself more properly, “I am still not quite used to it, Sir, I am sorry,” he explained, somehow assuming the man didn't need to be told what “it” was, and his assumption was confirmed when the man nodded.

“How old are you, Hyde?” The man asked his next question, and Hyde blinked in slight surprise.

“I turned thirteen this summer, Sir,” he answered quickly again. He was still very young, but he knew that a lot of slaves were first sold as soon as they hit puberty, which was often even earlier than thirteen, so he did not really expect his age to be surprising at all. Besides, with the life he was born to, working in the fields almost as soon as he could stand, he had grown up very quickly. For people as poor as his family had been, childhood in general was a commodity they couldn't really afford. Everyone always told him what a mature young man he was. And he did consider himself a man, by now, not just a boy.

Then again, the girl sitting at the table (who he again, assumed, to be one of the slaves) looked older than him, possibly fifteen or even sixteen.

“Very young then. Might even be a first for us, and then of course, male as well... Trying out new things, aren't we?” The man commented weirdly, and Hyde felt flustered for half a second as he didn't know what the man expected to hear from him in response, before he noticed that the stranger was no longer looking at him, but at someone behind him, obviously addressing the question to someone else. He looked over his shoulder just in time to realize Tetsuya had followed him into the room at some point before the man spoke up.

“Nothing bad with that,” the tall (at least compared to Hyde) man said, soon stepping past the boy and into the room, taking a seat at the head of the table casually. The girl shot up when he passed her, bowing a little respectfully, before re-taking her seat, “The world is changing, boys are becoming more popular, we need to keep up. I never truly paid that much attention to age, it was just about someone catching my eye in the market, and _he_ did this time. As for the gender... you don't mind, do you?” he finished with a question and the still-unfamiliar man shook his head with a beautiful smile.

“I don't have any issues with him at all, Tetsu-kun, I was just making some observations. It will be interesting,” he answered while Hyde still just listened to everyone quietly. Tetsuya chuckled.

“That was actually exactly what I was thinking when I decided to get him,” he suddenly looked up towards Hyde, and Hyde felt startled as he had felt like he had been pretty much forgotten while the men talked and thus did not expect this, “Come sit close to me, Hyde. The dinner will be served soon,” he indicated the chair on his left, since the other man sat at his right, and Hyde timidly did as told, “Have you even introduced yourself, Yukki?” he suddenly spoke to the other man again, and once he shook his head, continued, “Well then, Hyde, this is Yukihiro. He's the assistant that I have mentioned before, although the title doesn't give him justice – he's much more than that. In any case, you should treat him with as much respect as you show me.”

“Yes, Sir. Nice to meet you, Yukihiro-sama,” Hyde responded as politely as he could, bowing his head a little at the man as he spoke.

“Now, sitting beside you is Tia who, as you, no doubt realize, is your senior here. She and May, who is responsible for dinner tonight, will help you get the hang of things a lot in the beginning,” he continued, and just as Hyde was about to say something to greet the girl, another came from the doorway that Hyde had eyed earlier, carrying two covered trays in each of her hands, “Ah, and here is May now,” Tetsuya said with a smile as the girl came to the table and put the trays onto it, “Girls, this is Hyde, a new trainee. From the day after tomorrow he will frequently join you in your duties so he can watch and learn, and later on help out,” he introduced pleasantly, and Hyde mustered up a small smile having turned his face towards both of the pretty girls.

“I will depend on your guidance,” he spoke politely, and both of the two girls smiled at him brightly in response, but, weirdly, neither _said_ anything. It confused Hyde for a moment, especially when the second girl, whose name was apparently May, simply turned and continued with her work, uncovering the trays to reveal incredibly delicious looking, hot food. But then he realized he won't get an explanation, and it truly didn't seem like he had offended the girls somehow, so he took it as just something that he didn't know about yet and decided to ignore it.

He turned to the table again then and was overwhelmed for a moment again. He felt like he'd never seen this much food in one place before, and certainly not such... fancy food. There was some kind of fish... and then at least three kinds of salads, and soup and... Hyde didn't know the names of _any_ of those things. And then May came back, with... warm wet towels, it seemed, rolled up on plates, and everyone was getting some kind of white cloth over their laps, and Hyde just kept looking around, feeling lost and not knowing if he was allowed to ask... or even what he would ask first. Maybe about the three different forks beside his plate, wasn't one enough? At home, everyone always ate with chopsticks anyway...

“A bit lost, little one?” Hyde was startled out of his thoughts and his head shot up to look at the man sitting opposite of him. Yukihiro was smiling at him kindly, his plate now filled with some food, and he seemed like he stopped mid-motion, just to ask Hyde the question, his attention completely focused on the boy. For some reason, it made Hyde incredibly self conscious but also oddly honoured. He blushed and looked down onto his lap.

“I partly expected that... since I'm a slave... I would be expected to eat leftovers. On the floor. From a bowl. Or something. And now,” he faltered a little, looking all over the food before him again, “I never ate this well before in my life, and I probably will end up not eating now either, because I don't know what most of this stuff,” he pointed at all the different cutlery, “is _for_!”

Once he had started speaking, he didn't even notice as his voice got a bit louder and his emotions got through more clearly, and by the end he was almost crying again simply because all of it burst out so suddenly from him. But then he looked up again, and Yukihiro was still smiling such a kind smile at him that he suddenly calmed down again.

“Well, first of all,” surprisingly, it was Tetsuya that spoke up to answer him, not the man that asked the question in the first place, and Hyde snapped his head to look at him and to his surprise saw that Tetsuya was looking at him just as gently, “I cannot promise you that it will be the same all the time. When you're with your actual Master, he might end up treating you exactly as you said you expected to be treated _here_. And during our training, we'll address that as well, since you have to be used to everything. However, even if that happens, you will still be expected to at least _know_ how to eat in official occasions, if for no other reason than to know how to serve the food right. We'll sign you up for some etiquette lessons quite early on. Second of all, that is the irony of becoming a slave. For many, that means actually starting to live in conditions they could only have dreamt of during their old lives. As I told you before, it _is_ a much easier life. Many end up enjoying it and even become thankful for it. But it does mean giving up your free will.”

“And finally,” Yukihiro took over then, “For tonight, and the next few evenings, just try to copy what others are doing. Look at May,” he indicated, as the girl chose that moment to come into the room and sit down after, apparently, finally being finished with serving them, “or anyone else, really, it's fine to stare. And if you can't keep up with everything even then, it's fine to just eat as you want as well. As long as you're not shovelling food into your mouth with your bare hands, nobody here will get offended or angry. It's okay.”

Hyde nodded then, to show he understood, but inside he felt overwhelmed again. Everyone was being so nice to him. But then again, he also knew he was a slave, and the harsh parts of it that he had learned of today were still looming over him as well, and he just didn't know how he was supposed to feel anymore. But then May moved and, not wanting to be left behind and miss something important, he looked at what she was doing, pushing all thoughts away for now. He was so so hungry. So he copied her when she reached for the wet towel (which was apparently just there to clean their hands with) or put the white cloth over her lap, and continued to do the exact same as the girl further, finally starting to eat the food that almost made him moan from how delicious it was.

And apparently, it really was okay. It was okay to stare, it was okay when he mixed some forks up, and it was okay to eat as much as he wanted and even to take seconds. He didn't have to feel guilty for eating as much as he did, or to wonder if they'll have any food next week.

He found himself wishing he could bring his sister some of it. Or that she were simply here, able to enjoy the same things he did. And then he found himself wondering if he truly did the right thing “saving” her from this luxury. But then he caught the ridiculous thought and pushed it away. He would still rather be back at their tiny home eating a handful of bland rice, but free and with his beloved sister than enjoy all of this, but knowing he was a slave and would soon be doing everything he could just to please some person that paid for him in gold coins and thought him to be lower than himself. And he was sure his sister thought the same.

The thoughts did curb his eagerness to eat, however, and he slowed down noticeably with time, soon noticing he was getting quite full already anyway. He _did_ still try the dessert though, barely remembering the last time he had proper sweets, and of course remembered to thank for the meal once he was finished. Only he didn't know what he was supposed to do next, so he just continued sitting on his chair quietly for a while longer, waiting for all others to finish as well so that hopefully someone would tell him what was expected of him now.

“Tia, help May with cleaning up,” Tetsuya said sort of absent-mindedly once he and all the others caught up with Hyde who _had_ , after all, eaten very fast and rather greedily in the beginning. 

“Yes, Master,” the girl answered and soon stood up with the other one, starting to gather up the dishes. Now that he finally heard and saw her talk, Hyde could recognize that she had to be the one to call him to dinner, which made sense since May must have been busy preparing all this food, “Now come with me, Hyde, a few more things I need to show you,” the man then spoke to him, and Hyde hurriedly got up as well, bowing his head slightly to Yukihiro when he went away and followed him through the door.

“You've been to the dining room and the living room already, and you saw where the kitchen is,” the man talked while they walked into the grand foyer, where there was a huge staircase in the centre of it, leading up to the second floor, “The only places you still don't know on the first floor are down this corridor behind the stairs. On the right side of it, the first door leads to Yukki's room, the second – to mine. Remember that, because at some point you will be asked to just go there during the night instead of staying in your room, waiting for us. On the left, the door leads to the main bathroom and sauna. Finally, at the end of it there is the door to the veranda and the back garden. Then, on the second floor, aside from your own room and the two bathrooms I showed you before there are four more rooms, either May's or Tia's or unoccupied for now. There is also the cellar, but it has a separate entrance from outside. That's all as far as the house goes, but I brought you over here now to show you this,” he gestured to one of the walls in the foyer, leading them closer to what looked a bit like a notice board, with something pinned on it. Hyde looked at it curiously once they got close and saw slips of paper with “Tia” and “May” written on them, and then two sheets of paper below each of them.

“I mentioned to you that you'd be given a schedule for each day, and this is where it will be,” Tetsuya started explaining, “We usually make them for a whole week for everyone, so you can know what to expect, more or less, but there might be changes made at any time if there is a need. However, it won't change anymore after the morning of that day comes. Also, note that night plans are almost never written. Sometimes, there might be a note for someone if there's is something special planned, but only rarely. Also, if you see that you have a lot of free time left for you during the day, you can take it probably means you should rest, because there will be a long night ahead. Is everything clear so far?”

Hyde had been listening as attentively as he could, since he did not want to miss something that was, most likely, incredibly important, and he nodded hastily in response. It seemed simple enough. He'd just have to make sure to read it right every morning and do what it said. 

“Yes, Sir.”

“Okay,” Tetsuya approved, pointing at the second set of papers on the board, “Then the other thing which is just as important. There is a set of basic rules that slaves have to follow,” he explained and Hyde winced. No matter what, when the s-word was mentioned outright, his heart still gave an unpleasant lurch. But he continued listening, trying to ignore it, “They cover the main aspects of your duties and life in general. Rules concerning how you're supposed speak, how to act, defining the limits of your freedom and so on. As you get used to living here, those rules will keep gtting adjusted for you until you're exactly as a well-trained slave is supposed to be. For example, for now, you are still allowed to speak with anyone and at any time. You are also allowed to just call me Sir, or Tetsu-san. Same with Yukki.”

Hyde quickly glanced through both the girls' rule lists and noticed that the “Speech” rule for both of them read: “Only when prompted/asked something by someone of higher status. Also free to speak when noone of higher status is in the same room.” Which, he supposed, explained very well why they hadn't answered him when he greeted them. He was of the same status as them, after all. Maybe even lower, actually, considering he was not trained at all yet. They were his seniors.

In the meantime, Tetsuya still continued.

“Your rules have yet to be written up, of course, but they should be there by tomorrow morning. Yukihiro is working on them right now. They will be hung up here as well, and note that there's a reason why they're here beside your schedule. It's so you would look at them each day as well, first – to see if anything changed, and also – so you would repeat them to yourself each morning and memorize them better. As far as today goes, though, you're actually done,” Tetsuya finished unexpectedly, smiling down at the startled boy, “Usually, we always eat dinner together, and then you have some free time during which you can do what you want – within the rules of course – or finish up your extra tasks. And I do have one of those for you today. Go to the living-room. I don't know if you noticed, but there are a few bookshelves there. Find one called “Table Etiquette” by Laura Atkins, if I'm not much mistaken. Read it at your speed, learn what you can. You can go now,” he dismissed the slave then, gesturing towards the right side of the house, and Hyde nodded and started walking towards it. He was already opening the door when he heard his owners voice calling out to him again.

“By the way, Hyde. There is one more rule in particular that you might find interesting right now. The one concerning communication with any remaining family,” the boy rapidly turned around to stare at the taller man again, his heart suddenly beating impossibly fast and hard against his ribcage, “For you, it is allowed, at least for now. Only mail, since visits might be hard to arrange and phone-calls are deemed to be too distracting, but still. You can find some paper, pens and envelopes in the cabinet in the living-room,” he said, and then turned around and left heading for his room, leaving Hyde with a gaping mouth.


End file.
